Help Text editing annoying, can’t insert at beginning of word

[Android Question]

I am new to android and I have to say, editing text has been pretty annoying at times. I find tapping and placing the cursor in the right place can be a challenge many times. When editing text I usually want to insert a word, not add or delete characters within a word (since it is likely spelled correctly). On my previous iPhone, if I tapped a word near the beginning of the word, it automatically put the cursor at the beginning of the word. Then on the occasions I actually wanted to edit characters within a word, I would tap hold and it would insert the cursor where I picked up my finger.

The only way I can figure out to “guarantee” a cursor is placed before a word in Android is to do the following. Let’s say I currently have “This is a lot of fun!” typed into my text message box. Let’s say I wanted to insert the word “game” and instead say “This game is a lot of fun!”. I could try to tap right before “is” and hope I hit it just right, but half the time it doesn’t happen and I have to try again. It annoying because I want to be able to quickly edit text without having to worry or spend extra time “trying again” to place the cursor right. The only way I've found to “guarantee” that I won’t misfire is to tap in the middle of the word to the left of it, select the middle suggestion that comes up (which is the actual word) and it will then put the cursor before the word I am trying to add text to before it. So, in my example this means I would tap “This” in the middle, select “This” and then type “game”.

This solution doesn’t really work though for inserting at the beginning of an entire message or email. I find often (too often) it puts the cursor before the 2nd character not the 1st (beginning).

Hopefully this makes sense and you all can help with a solution to this!

 

[funkylogik]

Some 3rd party keyboards allow you to use the volume keys to move the cursor.
I know smart keyboard is one

 

[chanchan05]

As mentioned above, it depends entirely on the phone and what keyboard you use. Different manufacturers install different keyboards. There is no standard keyboard. You can use arrow keys if your keyboard has it.

 

[mikedt]

 

[Felim_Doyle]

I use a variety of Android devices with different sized screens and a variety of virtual keyboards without much difficulty. You may find that a stylus may help. Some are also ballpoint pens and I have one which has a torch and laser pointer built in. Remember not to try to take laser pointers on aircraft!

 

[kct1975]

View attachment 82781

So does the stock HTC Sense keyboard

 

[UncleMike]

Frequently (but not always), once you tap somewhere and the cursor appears, a symbol will show up under it (the symbol shape and color can vary depending on your Android version and keyboard app), and you can drag that symbol with your finger and the cursor will move with it. It can still be difficult to position, but this is another way to do it.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

Besides the many keyboard options mentioned, if your device is rooted you can use Gravity Box. It has an option to add cursor keys to the Navigation bar when the keyboard is visible (so it doesn't take away from keyboard or screen real-estate).

 

[EarlyMon]

If your device is following the standard, type the extra word anywhere, long press to select word, lift finger, put back on word and drag and drop anywhere in the sentence you like.

Or check keyboard settings for arrows, SwiftKey has them too.